Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Along the coast I went towards Marseille. Much of Marseille left me with a dirty and dubious impression. This started already in the surroundings on arrival, where, in addition to other waste, I was passing burned cars and scooters thrown down the gorges, probably stolen. The area of the port in the city center is worth seeing though. My impression was much improved to the southeast of Marseille, where the jagged cliffs with subtropical vegetation and beautiful sea views in the natural reserve of Calanques look exactly as one would imagine a romantic Mediterranean landscape. I also passed through Toulon, where there is little left to see from the historic center, but there is a large naval and submarine base. Further on the inconspicuous town of Bormes-les-Mimosas offers…

Grand Est & Burgundy-Franche-Comté From Luxembourg I headed straight south. I used the roads and cycle paths along the banks of the rivers Moselle, le Coney, the Vosges canal and further around the Saône, passing the riverboats of German and Dutch pensioner-tourists sailing the canals in the opposite direction. I went straight south until I reached Besançon, with a massive fortress above the bend of the river Doubs. There I hesitated whether to continue through the tip of Switzerland or through the river valleys to the southwest. The weather forecast predicted a week of constant rain over the Swiss Jura, so the southwest won. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes & Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Through a countryside full of ponds I got to the confluence of Saône and Rhône, to Lyon. In Lyon there is both…